When people find an effective way to lose weight and maintain their health, they may become excessively enthusiastic about it and make more efforts than is required. Fasting more than 24 hours actually does more harm than good, because it causes a general slowing of your metabolism, which prevents fat from being burned. Moreover, prolonged food deprivation stimulates the degradation of proteins, which leads to loss of muscle tissue, weakening of your immune system and poor bone and skin health.
Some people are vulnerable to a lowered blood sugar, which is a relatively frequent occurrence with intermittent fasting. If you feel dizzy or muscle weakness, you may drink sweetened tea or juice instead or plain water during your fasting days. It will not increase your caloric count significantly, but it will protect you from excessively low sugar. There is also a modified form of intermittent fasting that involves the consumption of 20 percent of daily caloric intake on fasting days, while still maintaining the main benefits of this diet. If intermittent fasting is too difficult to adjust to, choose to reduce the fasting period or use the modified, low-caloric fasting day as an alternative. Remember that losing weight is beneficial only when it is safe and is not associated with health damage.
Don't start intermittent fasting if you suspect a health condition that has not been evaluated by a doctor. If you think that you have some undiagnosed health issues, start by consulting a doctor and discussing the utility of intermittent fasting in your case. This diet is effective and safe for weight loss, but if you have severe heart disease, liver or kidney failure, or a serious metabolic disorder, you may need to talk to a medical professional first. Also, sudden weight loss may require periodical re-evaluation by your doctor to make sure that you actually improve your health rather than harm it. Gradual weight loss through intermittent fasting is safe and provides multiple health benefits for the vast majority of people.
Adjust your intermittent fasting regimen continuously until you find the perfect dietary routine. If you feel that it is hard to tolerate prolonged fasting, don't hesitate to shorten the period. Also, if you feel that several hours of fasting are not enough and you are fit enough to fast more, you can use the maximum 24-hr fasting period, but don't exceed it. Fasting is safe, but prolonged starvation is not.